Recommended Movies

Posted by Elliot

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Sure, there are lots of movie review sites. And if you’re looking up something particular, they’re a great help. But if you don’t know what to watch, you need trustworthy advice to heighten the signal/noise ratio. Welcome to etg Design’s database of worthwhile movies.

The few hundred films included focus mostly on classic movies, which today probably need a little extra help getting the attention of younger viewers. These recommendations are brought to you by Elliot and Steve Grant, longtime movie buffs who are relatively open-minded about what constitutes a good movie.

To get second opinions, you can choose to display only movies that made the AFI’s 400 nominations for Top 100 movies (62K PDF) or FilmSite.org’s 200 Greatest Films. NB: Both these lists exclude foreign films; the AFI 400 was finalized in 1996.

Steve’s list includes roughly 100 movies and also excludes foreign films. To continue the pattern of 50% greater exclusivity, Elliot’s list attempts to capture the approximately 50 most important films. Within those 50, I’ve tried to cover as many genres, cultures, eras, and themes as possible. Don’t write to me complaining about the choices—it’s subjective, it’s an impossible task, and it’ll probably change over time. Finally, the intersection of all four lists is approximately 30 movies.

(If you want a larger list, take a look at the New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.)

To display films, simply select the appropriate search criteria below. You can filter the search by genre, rating, or inclusion on the various lists mentioned above.

Movie Ratings

Movies are rated on a system devised by my movie-watching cabal based on the simple question: How much worth your time and/or money is seeing this film?

There are six levels of ratings. They’re easy to remember, and they even proceed in alphabetical order:

  1. A (Advance Showing): Some films are such must-sees that they’re worth paying extra and going out of your way to catch—as you might do for an advance (a.k.a. special sneak preview) showing.
  2. F (Full Price): A film rated Full is worth seeing on its intital run in the theaters, even though you’ll have to pay the full ticket price. It’ll be worth it.
  3. M (Matinee): Matinee movies are worth seeing in the theaters, but only if you can get a discount on the ticket price. They’re good—usually a lot of fun—but probably not worth seeing more than once.
  4. R (Rental): Rental flicks have redeeming qualities, but they’re ones you definitely won’t mind catching on video. The screen may be small, but you don’t want to pay even a matinee ticket price for this kind of film.
  5. TV: A movie that gets a TV rating isn’t worth spending any money on. If it comes on TV, you probably wouldn’t mind spending a few hours to catch it, but otherwise you can avoid it with a clear conscience.
  6. W (Worthless): This bottom category is exactly what it says. A Worthless film is one that you should skip even if it comes on TV and you have nothing better to do.

Recommended Movies

Movie Genre Rating Lists
Silence of the Lambs, The

Jodie Foster portrays FBI agent-in-training Clarice Starling, who must turn to an incarcerated psychopath (Anthony Hopkins) for help in tracing an elusive serial killer.
Mystery
F
FilmSite200
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Silver Streak

Fun homage to Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes finds Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor in fine form.
Comedy
M
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Singin’ in the Rain

Great songs, dancing, and a truly funny story about the turmoil in Hollywood due to the advent of talkies. Dignity. Always dignity.
Musical
A
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Singing Detective, The

Mystery writer Phillip Marlow [sic] replays old memories and the plot of his best-selling book while fighting psoriasis and hallucinations. A groundbreaking original.
Musical
A
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Sitting Pretty

New babysitter Lynn Belvedere has one simple explanation for the household’s transformation: I am a genius.
Comedy
M
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Sleuth

Mystery mindgames turn fatal between Michael Caine and cuckolded husband Laurence Olivier.
Mystery
F
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Smokey and the Bandit

Trucking legend Burt Reynolds and bride-on-the-run Sally Fields are running bootleg liquor on a bet while eluding Sheriff Jackie Gleason.
Comedy
F
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The first full-length animated movie is, in many ways, still the best. The lush artwork, individual characters, and wonderful songs coalesce into a near-perfect work.
Children
A
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Some Like It Hot

When musicians Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis accidentally witness the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, the only way to get out of town alive is to join an all-women’s jazz band. Guess which one gets Marilyn Monroe.
Comedy
A
SAG100
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2

Fun adapations of the Marvel comic character. CGI brings this highly acrobatic superhero to life, but the best part is the chemistry between stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. (Spider-Man 3 ruined everything. Why do so many super-hero sequels try to cram in so many villains? Never works.)
Action
F
AFI400